Dreams

Life is about dreaming. Life is about staring into space and making plans. Plans that may note come true; but it is inevitable that we dream, that we make plans.


Hold fast to dreams
For if dreams die
Life is a broken-winged bird
That cannot fly.
Hold fast to dreams
For when dreams go
Life is a barren field
Frozen with snow.

Langston Hughes

Outside, Inside

It's been more than 25 years since I left. Back again today for an opportunity to look at life through a different perspective, tempered by time, I see changes and I see that some things have remained the same.

The sky was particularly blue this morning as I took the opportunity of the quiet of the day to recapture my youth.

On the outside, the church has remained largely unchanged. From afar, it looked like it did when I left; perhaps with different coat of paint, that's all. The tall bell tower and the fruit tree next to the church both look the same to me. As a teenager, I remember those times under the tree. eating the forbidden fruits of the tree.

The church had undergone extensive interior remodelling recently and how different it looked. Gone were the noisy fans, now replaced by a quiet air-conditioning system. Even the altar has changed. The pews I knew as a child have been replaced.

Some things, though, remained unchanged. The two murals at the sanctuary looked like what I have always known them to be. The huge bells in the bellfry still sound the same.

Some things do remain unchanged. Over the years.


Out in the back of the church, the old cemetery still stands, forlorn and neglected. No one has been buried here for some thirty years. In the early morning quiet, the dew still on the leaves, the gravestones stand cold and silent. Forgotten, neglected, abandoned. I wonder when was the last time anyone had stepped into the cemetery to visit the graves of their loved ones.



And as I look at my own life, I wonder how much of me has changed on the outside and how much of me has changed on the inside. How much has changed for the better; how much has been neglected.

Today was a journey back into time; a journey in holding on and letting go. And as the month draws to a close, the journey was a fitting opportunity to remember and to reflect.

And if we do not make the effort to remember, how will we be able to help the next generation to remember?

Slow Down

Somewhere in the distant past, life was much simpler. We didn't entangle ourselves with unnecessary worries or concerns.

And suddenly in the recent past, with the boom of technology and connectivity, we have enslaved ourselves to our electronic devices. We react the moment the electronic technological communicator beeps, or chirps, or makes a noise. Unconsciously at meetings, at the dinner table, behind the wheel, we respond to the callings of our mobile communication device. On the trains, in the buses, at the restaurants, we often find people so engrossed with their smartphones, their tablets, their netbooks...

Oh how our parents will tell us that despite the hardships of not having microwaves or automatic washing machines, or wireless remotes for the TV, their generation did have a great life.

We don't really need an Earth Hour. We need one hour when the whole world shuts down its multitude of electronic devices; just so we can spend time together and listen to each other's hearts.

Music for the Soul

Out on a walk one night to a part of my childhood that has changed so much in the years since I first walked down this stretch of town with my parents.

Walking past the old monuments and structures, I come across a set of LED sculptures of musicians. It's drizzling lightly and I can hear the haunting notes of a song Father used to play on his harmonica when I was younger.

Upon my return home, I looked up old photos and am astonished by how much the landscape has evolved over the decades.

And I wonder how much I have changed in those years. Would friends from my distant past still remember the things I remembered, the things we did.

A part of me recalls an essay written years ago of how Mother rekindled friendships of half-century old when she reconnected with her school friends, many of whom she had not seen in those years. And now I am almost at that stage of life and wonder where the years have gone and what I have realised since.

Blazing Night

The night sky looked different yesterday. I looked out the window and saw why my child had so excitedly pointed out: a dragon in the fiery evening sky.

I stared for the longest time, trying to see what she saw. Too much of adulthood has clouded the mind's eye and this has made it difficult to see many things in life. How often I have misunderstood the kindness and gentleness of the little ones because I have failed to see life from their eyes.


The story goes that some time ago a man punished his 5-year-old daughter for wasting a roll of expensive gold wrapping paper. Money was tight and he became even more upset when the child pasted the gold paper so as to decorate a box to put under the Christmas tree.

Nevertheless, the little girl brought the gift box to her father the next morning and said, "This is for you, Daddy."

The father was embarrassed by his earlier overreaction, but his anger flared again when he found the box was empty. He spoke to her in a harsh manner, "Don't you know, young lady, when you give someone a present there’s supposed to be something inside the package?"

The little girl looked up at him with tears in her eyes and said, "Oh, Daddy, it's not empty. I blew kisses into it until it was full."

The father was crushed.

Vows Renewed

It was a simple wedding service. Touching nonetheless. As I watch two young people joining their lives; intertwined into one future, I am reminded of where I am in Life's timeline.




I have come to a stage in life when friends gather to celebrate life in the passing of our elders and in the marriages of the children of our friends. And in between there are the births of the next generation, the births that make us grandparents.

Today, as the young couple said their vows, with love in their hearts, I couldn't help remembering that many among us have made those same vows, said those same words.

And in the years that follow, as we become so used to each other, as children expand our family, as careers tussle with family for our time and energy, we forget those words as Life's challenges overwhelm us.




So today was a good reminder to find those words I said years ago. And more importantly - LIVE the promise I made.

Seven Jars

A near collision today reminded me of how we have misplaced priorities in life. We work hard to earn money so that we can have a meaningful life. However, over time, we typically end up working for the money. At least for me. We keep wanting to have better things, to have the new car, the bigger television set, the nicer house. So we end up working even harder.

And so it had been in the past, as told in this adapted of an ancient tale.

The Seven Jars

Long ago there lived a a merchant whose wife had died and who went daily from his lonely house in the foothills to the town below, for buying and selling. "I must have a holiday," he said to himself one day, and he began to climb up into the hills to enjoy the view and the sounds of the forest. In the hot afternoon, feeling sleepy he looked for a quiet place for a nap. Soon he discovered a kind of hole in a cliff, actually a cave; so he lay down in the dark interior and slept. Waking up, he felt there was something with him, in the cave.

Crawling back inside he found a large earthen jar. Then another, and another and another -- there were seven jars there, altogether! Now the merchant wondered if he dared to open them. There was no sound of anyone about, still it seemed a bit risky. But curiosity, as you know, is powerful indeed. He found he could lift the lid of the first jar. What do you know! It seemed to be full of gold coins. So were the second, third, fourth and fifth. Under the lid of the sixth jar he found an aged piece of paper. On it was written, "Finder, beware!! The seven jars of gold are yours, but there is a curse. No one who takes them with him can leave the curse behind." Now, next to curiosity, greed is the most powerful urge. Our merchant overjoyed with his luck, wasted no time in borrowing a two-wheeled cart to carry the jars of gold to his house. It was exhausting and next to impossible. Bulky and hard to lift, they had to be taken two by two; in the dark of night he lugged them to his house. On the last trip, with the seventh jar alone thankfully the load was lighter, and he noticed nothing.

"Let me count the coins," he thought , "and see how great my fortune is."

But when that seventh jar was opened he found it was only half-full. "What!" he cried, "I was promised seven jars!" He had thrown the note away and forgotten about the curse. The merchant was overcome and obsessed by a spirit of grasping and greed. Now, in the town, he went at his money-making hand and fist; it was all he lived for. "I must fill the seventh jar with gold,": this was his constant thought. Yet the more he put into the jar, strangely the more it remained half-full. He lived some years more, but never did he enjoy spending the gold he had found, because it was never enough.

How often do we look for happiness in the distance when it is right in front of us?

New Friends New Loves

We had some new plants in the garden recently. Now that the sun's back up and warming the day, the flowers add new energy and life. It's March and the herald of spring is here.

It's really love when the different shades of reds, pinks and white appear. Really refreshing to see these flowers bloom in the morning sun only to close up and rest in the heat of the afternoon. And the next morning, they awaken, fresh from their slumber.

These are the new flowers, replacing the old ones that have long faded last December. And so in life, we change jobs, we move to another part of the country, we make new friends. We start a new chapter in our lives.

But deep inside, we never forget old friends; for they have been a part of our life's journey. From time to time, we remember them and though we don't get as many opportunities to spend time with them, we still cherish them.



To all my old and dear friends out there, somewhere out there beneath the pale moonlight, thank you.

Time

It probably took the people of the land a long, long time to build this stone wall.

Piece by piece, stone by stone, they chose them so ever carefully and placed them with even more care. Today the wall still stands, and occasionally, along the long stretch there were pieces that had fallen off.

And such is life, piece by piece, each memory makes us who we are. Some events we have chosen to forget; some events we have lost as the years progressed.

Cherish and celebrate the memories you hold dear. Reach back out and connect with those people who have played an important part of our lives. I know I will this weekend.

Hope you will begin to connect.

Over the Hill

There comes a time when one feels older and worn out. A time when the exuberance of youth gives way to lines of wisdom.

Such a time has come today as I look back at the decades behind and wonder what those ahead will bring; knowing full well that at least half my life is spent and trying to come to terms that the future I dreamt about as a youth remains very much a dream.

We are often reminded that life is not about the years lived but what we have put into those years and what we have gotten out of those years.

As Frank Sinatra said, "I've lived a life that's full..." yet there's still much to accomplish. Yet we need to remind ourselves that there's no guarantee that we will live to a ripe old age. So I remind myself to cherish each day, to treasure each moment, to remember each friend, to love each moment because we do not know when the day will come.

So today, I raise a glass to Dad and Mom for all the sacrifices they have made, for all the love and care, for all the moments of pride and sorrow I have given them. And that their golden years be truly made golden, not because of what they have given to me, but simply because they deserve the good years; because they've earned the right to enjoy their golden years.

God bless.

Inertia

We are all inert, in more ways than we think, in more forms than we believe.




We resist change, we are creatures of habit. We fear change at times. We stick to the same-old, same-old because we are not sure whether the new will bring us more comfort, more joy, more peace.

And even those if before us have shown us the positive side of the new order, we resist.

And like the stone sitting quietly in its spot, we will soon be covered by moss, by sand, by debris until we become buried in our own undoing.

Peaceful and serene but not doing much except occupying space and time, waiting for eternity to conclude.

Rain Again

It rained again that morning. Notice how the rain keeps coming on days when it shouldn't. And on occasions when we expect the rain to fall, it doesn't.

This is life as it should be. We can plan for many things but often there are others who influence the outcome.

We do what we can. And learn to appreciate the way things in life turn out.